Katherena Vermette
Canadian | period = 2010s-present | notableworks = North End Love Songs | spouse = | website = }} Katherena Vermette (born January 29, 1977) is a Governor General's Award-winning Canadian poet.Daniel Baird, "Katharena Vermette, Canadian Encyclopedia. Web, Oct. 30, 2016. Life Youth and education Vermette was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the daughter of a Mennonite mother and Métis father. She grew up in the Winnipeg's North End, Manitoba, a neighbourhood distinguished by a relatively high population of Indigenous Canadians (approximately. 25%), primarily First Nations and Métis people. Winnipeg, a city often singled out for its high rate of reported crimes, garners further negative outsider attention in its North End because of its dense number of reported crimes. In an interview with CBC Radio, Vermette described her childhood as not being “picturesque”, in the usual sense of the word. For Vermette, growing up in the North End of Winnipeg meant that things were not always simple and, from a young age, she bore witness to the kind of injustice and prejudice from which young people are typically spared. An example of the above that hit home came when 14-year-old Vermette lost her older brother, barely 18-year-old Donovan, who was missing for 6 months before being pronounced dead. Vermette asserts that the combination of Donovan’s adolescence, his having been at a bar with friends prior to his disappearance, and his being Cree meant that his disappearance was downplayed and not adequately covered by the media. Vermette cites the general apathy shown by the people of her community and the media surrounding her brother’s disappearance as being the factor which instigated her own sense of the unfairness of the discrimination against the aboriginal populations of Canada by non-aboriginal Canadians, leading to her desire to activate for change. She was an M.F.A. student in creative writing at the University of British Columbia."Local poet didn't know it". Winnipeg Free Press, October 3, 2013. Writing Vermette is a member of the Aboriginal Writers Collective of Manitoba, and edited the anthology xxx ndn: love and lust in ndn country in 2011."Manitoba writers explore Indigenous erotica in self-published book". CBC Manitoba, June 27, 2011. In addition to her own publications, her work has also been published in the literary anthology Manitowapow: Aboriginal writings from the land of water. In 2013 she won the Governor General's Award for English language poetry, an accolade she dubbed a “goal” for poetry, as well as being “completely unexpected”. In an interview with CBC Radio, Vermette discussed having considered not accepting the award, as a means of protesting the Canadian government’s treatment of the many missing and murdered aboriginal women at the time, and disagreeing with the government’s policies in general. After consideration, Vermette decided to accept the award because the people who voted for North End Love Songs were a collection of her literary peers, making it a reflection of the Canadian poetry community, rather than the Canadian government. Activism n addition to her writing, Vermette advocates for the equality of aboriginal peoples in Canada, vocalizing her dissatisfaction with the apathy shown towards Indigenous issues by the Canadian government and the Canadian media. Vermette also works with young people who have been ostracized for their circumstances and labelled as being “at risk”. This workshop focuses on utilizing writing as a means of coping with the struggles associated with growing up marginalized because of that which makes one different from the majority. Vermette seeks to promote the development in young people’s artistic voice, through the medium of poetry. In 2015, she and Erika MacPherson co-directed a 20-minute National Film Board of Canada documentary, This River, about Canadian indigenous families that have had to search for family members who have disappeared. Partly based on Vermette's own experience, the film was shown at Montreal's Présence autochton festival before premiering in Vermette's hometown of Winnipeg at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. Writing Vermette is known primarily for her poetry, although she is also a writer of prose. From her viewpoint, Vermette’s penchant for poetry stems from the fluidity and complexity of it as a medium; it combines singing, storytelling, and even painting, yet is something entirely different. Vermette has described her writing as motivated by an activist spirit, particularly on First Nations issues.Interview with Katherena Vermette. As It Happens, November 13, 2013. North End Love Songs Vermette’s first published volume of poetry, North End Love Songs, functions as an ode to the place she grew up, Winnipeg’s North End, and her intimate perspective on a place that is looked down upon for its high levels of reported crime. In the work, she describes her neighbourhood with respect to nature, highlighting the animals, foliage and rivers that coexist within it. In writing North End Love Songs, Vermette sought to replace the prejudiced perceptions held by people outside of the North End with the beautiful way that she knows her community. The collection depicts a “young girl or woman struggling with identity and place,” says Vermette. This conflict between a simultaneous deep sense of affection and of defiance to place of origin is precisely what constitutes the idea of home, in Vermette’s view. "Heart" A poem commissioned by CBC Aboriginal, “Heart” similarly depicts the North End of Winnipeg from Vermette’s personal point of view. Vermette aims to change the narrative from “''that'' North End”, known for being “broken”, “tired”, a “lost cause”, and “beaten”, to the way she knows it; rather, a place that is “healing”, “working”, “seeking a cause”, and “rising”. The poem gets its name for being about the North End which, from Vermette’s perspective, is the “heart of the Métis nation”. The Seven Teachings Stories Vermette's children's picture book series The Seven Teachings Stories was published by Portage & Main Press in 2015. Illustrated by Irene Kuziw, the collection aims to present the Anishnaabe Teachings of the Seven Grandfathers in a way that is easily digestible for young people. The series depicts Indigenous children in a metropolitan context, fostering a sense of representation for historically and continually marginalized Indigenous groups,. The series comprises 7 individual volumes: The Just Right Gift, Singing Sisters, The First Day, Kode's Quest(ion), Amik Loves School, Misaabe's Stories, and What is Truth, Betsy?. ''The Break'' Her debut novel The Break was published in 2016, and was a shortlisted finalist for that year's Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize"Two debut novelists among this year’s Writers’ Trust nominees". The Globe and Mail, September 21, 2016. and Governor General's Award for English-language fiction,"Governor-General’s Literary Award short list a serious case of déjà vu". The Globe and Mail, October 4, 2016. Recognition In 2013, Vermette won the Governor General's Award for English language poetry, for her collection North End Love Songs. UBC Creative Writing|website = creativewriting.ubc.ca|access-date = 2016-03-30}} This River, a 2015 short documentary directed by Vermette and and Erika MacPherson received the 2016 Coup de coeur du jury award at Montreal's Présence autochton festival. Publications Poetry *''North End Love Songs''. Winnipeg, MB: Muses' Co, 2012. Novel *''The Break''. Toronto: Anansi, 2016. Juvenile *''The Seven Teachings Stories'' (illustrated by Irene Kuziw). Winnipeg, MB: HighWater Books. **''The Just Right Gift: A story of love'', 2014. **''Kode's Question: A story of respect'', 2014. **''Singing Sisters: A story of humility'', 2014. **''The First Day: A story of courage'', 2015. **''Amik Loves School: A story of wisdom'', 2015. **''Missaabe's Stories: A story of honesty'', 2015. **''What is Truth, Betsy? A story of truth'', 2015. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.results = au:Vermette, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Oct. 30, 2016. See also *Canadian First Nations poets *List of Canadian poets References Notes External links ;Audio / video *Katherena Vermette at YouTube ;About *Katharena Vermette in the Canadian Encyclopedia *Katharena Vermette at the University of Manitoba *Katherena Vermette Official website *Katharena Vermette on Twitter ;Etc. *River'' Official website Category:21st-century Canadian poets Category:Canadian women poets Category:Canadian children's writers Category:Writers from Winnipeg Category:Métis writers Category:Living people Category:Women children's writers Category:21st-century women writers Category:Canadian documentary film directors Category:Métis film directors Category:Film directors from Winnipeg Category:21st-century Canadian novelists Category:Canadian women novelists Category:21st-century poets Category:Canadian poets Category:Canadian women writers Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:Women poets Category:1977 births Category:Canadian First Nations poets